Monday, August 31, 2009

From Tony Rizzo: A motorcyclist killed Saturday while attempting to flee from police
has been identified as Thomas Maurice Ozborne of Kansas City, Kan.

Ozborne,
31, died when his motorcycle popped a wheelie and collided with a van
at 31st Street and Southwest Boulevard, according to the Kansas Highway
Patrol. A 38-year-old woman who was driving the van was taken to a
hospital with minor injuries.

“The classic example of reckless homicide is firing a gun into a
crowded building and killing somebody,” said defense lawyer Steve
Romines of Louisville. “Having kids run wind sprints doesn't equate to
that.”

In this photo provided by
the Gilpin family, Max Gilpin is shown during his 15th birthday party,
in July, 2008, in Louisville, Ky. After two-plus hours of practice,
Pleasure Ridge Park football coach David JasonStinson
had enough goofing off. The first-year head coach ordered the 100 or so
players to run sprints until someone quit the team. Five got sick, two
eventually quit and 15-year-old offensive lineman Max Gilpin collapsed,
dying three days later at a hospital. A year later, as Stinson prepares for a closely watched criminal trial. (AP Photo/Family Photo via The Courier-Journal)

And each says they were victims of abuse and had no option but to kill their husbands. The state's parole board will be considering their cases over the next couple of weeks, though prosecutors and victims' families plan to strongly object, the Post-Dispatch reports. There's been an effort over the past few years to get leniency for women in these cases, who were convicted but never got the chance to show that domestic abuse played a part in their crimes.

Hmm, still sounds pretty iffy, if you read the AP's story. Roeder, accused of murdering abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, has been talking to a prominent defense attorney who's represented others accused of attacking doctors and clinics. Michael Hirsh has said justifiable homicide should be a possible defense in these kinds of cases.

Among the topics: The Old Testament, their Hebrew roots and the “secret societies” attempting to control government and culture.

In this July 28, 2009 file
photo, Scott Roeder speaks with his attorney Mark Rudy during Roeder's
preliminary hearing in court in Wichita, Kan. Roeder, 51, is charged in
the death of Dr. George Tiller. (AP Photo/Jaime Oppenheimer, Pool)

The dead man was named Michael Jacobs Jr., and he suffered from schizophrenia. He was apparently off his meds and having an episode when Fort Worth police Tasered him back in April. The first burst lasted 49 seconds, followed a moment later by a 5-second burst. Though the medical examiner has ruled it a homicide, it's not clear what kind of charges, if any, will be brought. The case is going to a grand jury.

A friend told police after Gilliam shared the news about the break-up
over the phone three hours before the fire, Gilliam said "she wished
something bad would happen, because when something bad happened in the
past, her and Scott would get back together."

From Christine Vendel: A car slammed into a fire truck that was heading back to its fire station early today, killing two passengers in the car.

The driver, a 24-year-old man, suffered critical injuries in the 4:15 a.m. crash in the 3200 block of Indiana Avenue. The mother of the driver, 47-year-old Crystal Lewis, was riding in the
front seat and died at the scene. Malinda Reliford, 32, was in the back
seat and also died.

From KCPD: On 8/28/2009, at approximatley 10:43 pm, officers were called to a shooting at 70th Terr and Olive. The caller advised someone had been shot and was being driven to a local hospital. The victim arrived at the hospital and died a short time later of an apparent gunshot wound.

During the investigation, it was learned several males were involved in an outside disturbance at 70th Terr and Olive. The victim was apparently shot during the confrontation.
Three black male suspects left the scene on foot.
Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816.474.8477.

From KCPD: The Kansas City Missouri Police Department conducted a Sobriety Checkpoint on August 28, 2009 from 2300 hours to 0400 hours at 56th & Ward Parkway. Southbound traffic was checked with total of 494 vehicles stopped. A total number of 8 DUI arrests were made, along with 1 Possession of Marijuana, 2 Hazardous Moving Violations, 3 Other Traffic Violations, and 6 KC Warrants.

At one concert, McGraw stops in the middle of singing "Indian
Outlaw," calls for security and pulls a guy on stage by his shirt so
that guards can haul him away.

"Look, I'm the one with the microphone, so if there's something that
needs to be done, and I'm the one who can see it because of where I'm
at, then I'm probably the only person who can ask somebody to do
something about it, because other people may not be able to see it,
security especially," said McGraw.

But largely on a technicality -- it wasn't clear how old the girl was when she was assaulted. So the jury had to conclude the statute of limitations had expired and cleared the defendant. Not that it mattered. Story is from Florida.

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and
discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel
free to post a link below.

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always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments,
and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive
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nickname.If you need to reach me, send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Blaine Dalton, 18, was arrested by University of Missouri police shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Friday and was charged with DWI, not driving within the proper lane and with driving an unregistered vehicle, writes The Star's Mike DeArmond.

This was the second time he had been arrested for similar charges in four months.